In the past, it has been known to mount a tiltable, electrically heated kettle in a cabinet, charge it with oil and unpopped corn kernels, heat the oil and corn and dump popped popcorn into the cabinet. Electric heater elements were combined with the kettle and were connected to an electric power source via conduits and fittings either running through the kettle mounting brackets and pivot supports, or extending directly to the kettle generally from the upper regions of the cabinet housing control components for the unit.
While such systems have been useful for years, they are attended by numerous drawbacks or inherent disadvantages. For example, since the kettles are typically heated by electrical elements mounted in or on the kettles, cleaning is difficult. Frequently, if not always, the kettles cannot be immersed in water and thorough cleaning is thus hindered by the concern of wetting or leaving water around or in the vicinity of the electrical components of the kettle. And in cases where the electrical components are covered or encapsulated, the extra materials are expensive and increase manufacturing costs.
Secondly, it is usually necessary to supply about 5 to 6 thousand watts of electrical power to the kettles in order to heat them properly for corn popping, particularly in the commercial use units. The heat produced by this power conducts through the kettle and its mounting pivots and hardware, thus significantly raising the temperature of all structural parts associated with the kettle or its mounting structures. Much of the heat is not directed into the oil and corn, but is dissipated into other components and wasted as excess heat, reducing the efficiency of the power applied for corn popping.
Accordingly, it has thus been one objective of the invention to provide an improved popcorn popper wherein the popping kettle can be completely immersed in water or liquid for cleaning.
It has been a further objective of the invention to provide an improved popcorn popper wherein the kettle has no electrical components, heaters, conduits or connections.
It has been a further objective of this invention to provide an improved popcorn popper which isolates the heat power introduced to the kettle away from structures supporting the popping kettle and thus renders the popping process more efficient.
It has been a further objective of the invention to provide an improved popcorn popper having apparatus for more directly controlling the application of heat to the popping process and for reducing waste heat.
A still further objective of the invention has been to provide improved methods for heating popping kettles to pop popcorn.